USA TODAY International Edition
Biden, Trump politicize coronavirus, China
With more than 1 million Americans known to have coronavirus, and polling showing a negative shift in Americans’ attitudes toward China, the presidential candidates have ramped up attacks on each others’ records related to the global superpower.
For President Donald Trump, the focus on former Vice President Joe Biden’s record on China comes as he fights off criticism of his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. He has also ramped up his criticism of China’s handling of the initial coronavirus outbreak.
On the other side, Biden is using Trump’s previously complimentary remarks about China as part of the argument that he is better qualified to lead the country through the pandemic and the recovery.
By pinning blame for coronavirus on China, Trump is looking to find traction as public opinion of his handling of the crisis has dipped. Biden has sought to exploit those openings, while touting his own dealings with the nation as vice president. And as the rhetoric escalates, advocates are also urging caution about the focus on China, given a rise in reports of discrimination directed at Asian Americans.
Experts said the response from Biden signals a willingness to take a page out of Trump’s playbook to get in front of the president’s attacks.
“When someone punches you, you punch them back harder – that’s kind of 101 out of the Trump campaign from the primary and the general in 2016,” said John Della Volpe, director of polling at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics. “To me, that was an element of that strategy from Biden. But you also have the relevant information of record over the last 90 days.”
And the presidential campaign isn’t the only race being touched by the escalation in China- related rhetoric.
A 57- page strategy memo for Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, first reported on by Politico, advised candidates when asked about Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, “Don’t defend Trump, other than the China Travel Ban – attack China.”
Dueling ads, campaign memos
The elevation of China as a campaign issue escalated during April.
The Trump campaign took aim first, slamming in tweets and ads Biden’s initial criticism of Trump’s ban on travel from China. Trump allies have referred to the former vice president as “Beijing Biden” while the president has increasingly accused China of concealing the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic before it spread globally.
“We are not happy with China,” Trump said at a Monday coronavirus task force news conference, adding that his administration would be pursuing investigations into China’s handling of the pandemic.
In turn, the Biden camp has attacked Trump’s praise of China early in the coronavirus pandemic as Americans were beginning to getting sick.
“Trump praised the Chinese government instead of taking action to combat the coronavirus,” read a Monday email from the Biden campaign that extensively quoted from a Politico article titled “15 times Trump praised China as coronavirus was spreading across the globe.”
The Trump campaign’s first volley launched this month: an online ad called “Biden stands up for China.”
It highlights Biden saying, “This is no time for Donald Trump’s record of hysterical xenophobia” after Trump limited air travel from China in January, though Biden later clarified his position in support of the travel restrictions. The ad then pivots to the business dealings of Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, in China.
“It is in our best self- interest for China to be able to prosper,” the elder Biden is shown saying in a clip from a 2011 speech at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, as ominous music plays. A caption then appears: “No. Just Biden’s interest.”
But the Biden campaign quickly pushed back, using Trump’s words, tweets and policy decisions to portray a president who had a blind eye to China. A little over a week later, the Biden campaign released its own ad and videos on social media to present its side of the story.
The Biden campaign accused Trump of trying to hide that he “failed to act,” providing several rebuttals in its own ad released on April 18. It includes Biden’s Jan. 27 op- ed in USA TODAY, before the outbreak spread in the U. S., where he wrote Trump’s actions “left us unprepared” for a pandemic; remarks from a debate where Biden demanded American health authorities be allowed into China in a call for transparency; and reporting of 15 instances where Trump praised China, including a Jan. 24 tweet praising China’s “efforts and transparency.”
“Trump rolled over for the Chinese,” a voice over in the the ad says.
“Look around,” it continues later, noting the millions of people out of work and tens of thousands killed by COVID- 19. “Donald Trump left this country unprepared and unprotected for the worst public health and economic crisis in our lifetime.”
In a campaign memo distributed to Democratic officeholders earlier in April, Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield unveiled four key talking points to frame Trump’s response to the coronavirus. Atop the list: “The Chinese government.”
“He praised its leader and did not fight anywhere near hard enough to get the facts,” the memo reads.
In response, Trump campaign deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews said Trump has “always been resolute in taking early action,” again pointing to Trump’s travel restrictions on China.